Song:(I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
Album:The Best of Kay Kyser & His Orchestra
Though he was not a musician, Kay Kyser led a popular 40s big band. He was probably best known for his radio show and he also appeared in films. He scored five number one hits including Jingle, Jangle, Jingle in 1942. Because a lot of his hits were novelty songs, Kyser's music doesn't hold up as well as other bands of that era. He was born James Kern Kyser June 18, 1905 in Rocky Mount, NC. He planned to attend law school. But while attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he took over the campus band. Kyser took clarinet lessons but he was better as an entertaining announcer. So he hired George Duning as musical director. Duning was a graduate of the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and he would go on to be musical director at Columbia Pictures and compose many film scores. Kyser's fame came from his radio show Kay Kyser's Kollege of Musical Knowledge. This show ran mostly on NBC from 1938-49 and then he took it to TV. It was a mix of music, comedy and a quiz show. Meanwhile Kyser recorded first for Brunswick and then his recording career really took off when he moved to Columbia in 1939. His number one hits were The Umbrella Man (1938), Three Little Fishes (1939), Jingle, Jangle, Jingle (1942), Ole Buttermilk Sky (1946) and Woody Woodpecker (1948). Jingle, Jangle, Jingle was written by Joseph J. Lilley and Frank Loesser for the 1942 film The Forest Rangers where it was sung by Dick Thomas. Of course Loesser wrote hundreds of hits. Lilley was a staff songwriter for Paramount Pictures. Kyser's recording topped the charts. It appears in the 2010 video game Fallout: New Vegas. Singer Harry Babbitt was with Kyser's band since 1936. He was great at novelty songs. He also sang the Spike Jones classic All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. Julie Conway joined the Kyser band after Ginny Simms left for a film career. She was soon replaced by Gloria Wood. Another featured performer was Ish Kabibble who played trumpet in the band along with his comedy shtick. Kyser also appeared in several films. I've seen a couple of them and it's the same problem as his music. It's corny so it doesn't hold up well today. Kyser intended to retire after WWII. But instead he moved his radio show to TV in 1949. That ran for a couple of years and then he retired. He did not participate in the early 60s reunion of his band. He was married to Georgia Carroll who once sang in his band until his death of a heart attack on July 30, 1985 at age 80. Here's a video of (I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle Jingle by Kay Kyser & His Orchestra featuring Harry Babbitt and Julie Conway.
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